Five Reasons You Need a Lawyer

Wondering if you need a lawyer? In this video, we explain five major benefits of hiring a lawyer to help with your family law matter.

What do you call 1,000 lawyers up to their necks in sand? Not enough sand.

Lawyers… who needs ‘em, right?

Well, you might. Particularly where family matters are concerned.

As an experienced Family Law practitioner and Dispute Resolution Officer,
I have on many occasions dealt with unrepresented parties. In the legal
world, “unrepresented” means you don’t have a lawyer.
The reasons why individuals choose not to retain a lawyer to help them
navigate through their family law litigation vary. In some cases, people
simply cannot afford to hire one.

More often than not, legal aid or some alternative means of retaining a
lawyer are available. But most unrepresented people take on this role
voluntarily. Here are five reasons why representing yourself, without
the help of a lawyer, is a bad idea.

The Rules and Statutes of Family Law

While they are accessible online, they can be lengthy and complex, and
if you have limited experience dealing with legislation and statutory
interpretation, simply having access to the rules and statutes will not
be enough. You need someone to guide you through what impact the rules
and statutes can have on your case, whether positive or negative.

Document Preparation

Going to Court requires that you draft materials. A lot of documents. Under
very few circumstances would you walk into a Court room to argue a matter
without having first drafted materials that were served on the opposing
party and then filed with the Court. Chances are you only get divorced
once… or maybe twice… but in any event, you have much less
experience drafting Court materials than lawyers do. Writers, of any kind,
are supposed to cater to their target audience; therefore it is a big
advantage to have a professional draft Court documents for you. Another
advantage is lawyers develop relationships with Judges over time and they
come to appreciate how Judges want materials to be drafted.

Identifying your Rights

Many people have commented on the peculiarities of the English language
used in Law. Legal jargon can be confusing, no question. For example,
did you know that you could have sole custody of your child or children
even if they live with their other parent 100% of the time? When people
come in for a consultation, they do so because they feel like they do
not know what their rights stemming from a separation are, and in most
cases, they are correct. Family Law is complicated and cases can get drawn
out for months.

Preserving your Time

Preparing for a Court case is a full-time job, so if you have an actual
full time job, chances are you are not going to be properly prepared to
develop and present your case. Time is money, as they say, so while using
the services of a lawyer costs money, it may be cheaper in the long run
to pay someone to handle your file, rather than having to miss work and
cost yourself a portion of your pay cheque. Even worse, if you mishandle
your case, you could cost yourself a chunk of what you are entitled to
receive from your ex-spouse.

Cost Consequences

Those who are unprepared for Court, or who are unsuccessful at trial, often
have to pay costs, either a portion or the entire amount, for the other
side. If the four reasons that I have just talked about don’t strike
a chord, here is the most important reason to hire a lawyer. Self-represented
parties are not given any sympathy by Judges – they are held to
the same standards as lawyers are within the four walls of the Court room.
If you forget to serve or file something or if you litigate in an unreasonable
fashion, it doesn’t matter if you’re not an L.L.B. or a J.D.
or an M.L.A., you will still be out of luck when it comes to paying your
ex’s costs.

Should you require more information and wish to schedule a consultation,
please visit our website or
contact any of our offices. Thank you.

For the Feldstein Family Law Group, I’m Andrew Feldstein.

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